The Tortoise Falling
Richard Heighway
Photomechanical reproduction of pen and ink drawing.
2¼ inches, diameter
Joseph Jacobs,The Fables of Aesop, p.112.
Tortoise, having asked for a lift (quite literally), is betrayed by the birds who see him as a pleasant meal. Eagles in the southern Mediterranean drop tortoises onto hard rocks as thrushes drop snails onto stones in Britain. Tortoise is shown here falling to his death.
Click on image to enlarge it.
Scanned image and text by Simon Cooke.